Packers quarterback James Starks completely planned to play today. Despite suffering an ankle injury in Week 11 that he subsequently reinjured in the following two games, which then caused him to miss last week’s game, Starks said he was healthy enough to play vs. the Chiefs and there was no reason to sit him out with the playoffs coming closer.

His team apparently disagrees, as Green Bay has deactivated Starks for the second-straight week.

Starks has been OK this season (565 yards, 4.4 yards per carry), but since he hurt his ankle, he’s combined for seven carries and 24 yards in the past two games. Obviously, his ankle was hurting badly enough where he was ineffective when he was actually in the game.

Plus, the team probably doesn’t agree with Starks that there is no reason to be cautious with his ankle with the upcoming playoffs. In fact, there’s EVERY reason to be cautious with the rapidly-approaching postseason, especially considering Green Bay is playing a Kansas City squad today that shouldn’t be much of a threat.

Also, last week, without Starks in the lineup, Ryan Grant had one of his best games of the season, recording 85 yards and two carries on 10 carries, another reason why Green Bay probably feels OK about resting Starks another week.

Packers quarterbacks coach Tom Clements, who has played a major role in the development of Aaron Rodgers, was reportedly interviewed Friday for the Penn State head coaching job, according to USA Today.

But ESPN Milwaukee writes that an NFL source says Clements, in fact, did NOT interview for the job.

"I’m not aware of any interview to take place today," Packers coach Mike McCarthy told reporters after practice Friday. "As far as if Tom was a candidate, I think he would be an outstanding candidate. I do not know what Penn State’s plans are. I’ve had zero communication with anybody from Penn State."

Also, a source told ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, "There is no telephone interview or conversation that is scheduled between Tom and Penn State, there never has been one scheduled, nor is there anything scheduled in the foreseeable future."

Clements -- a former Notre Dame All-American and a Canadian Football League Hall of Famer who’s been a highly regarded NFL assistant -- was supposed to have been interviewed by acting athletic director Dave Joyner on the phone, according to USA Today. Yet, it seems highly unlikely that Clements would interview with Penn State without telling McCarthy first.

Joyner also was to interview interim Nittany Lions coach Tom Bradley, though it’s hard to see Joyner continuing on with a former Joe Paterno assistant at the helm of the Penn State program. Joyner also has interviewed Jay Paterno, but the chances of him following in his father’s footsteps have to be less than zero.

Last week, Clements submitted his application to Penn State, though he declined to discuss his interest in the job. His players, former and current, had rave reviews for him, though.

"I would hire him in a second,” Brett Favre told USA Today.

Rodgers feels the same way. After Clements’ interest in the job surfaced, Rodgers said, "I don't want to see him leave, but if you look at that situation it's going to take a man with integrity to step in there and lead.”

"Tom has a great pedigree as a player, as a coach, as a teacher, as a human. He's a first-class individual.”

You might have noticed that for the past, oh, two months or so, we’ve gotten a little Tim Tebow crazy on the Eye on Football blog*. That’s because, well, the dude is 7-1 as a starter, because he’s so hated and so loved at the same time, because he’s a leader of men, a winner (via Clark Judge) and a terrible quarterback (via Pete Prisco).

*Not that we’re any different than the rest of the football-loving world.

Me, I love the storyline, because it grows more improbable each week. Sure, if a network is devoting hours a day to Tebow coverage, yeah, that’s a bit much. But it’s a fun ride, and in our view, we’re having a blast with the view Tebow is providing (and what happens, pray tell, if the Broncos actually beat the Patriots on Sunday?).

That said, others NFL players aren’t quite as pleased at how much coverage Tebow has received since taking over for Kyle Orton in Denver.

“I sit at home, start watching TV and all I’m seeing is Tebow,” Finley said. “That’s kind of disturbing. We have a guy here that’s breaking records every week and you have a guy in Tebow that’s saying ‘God’ every word and he gets coverage. Of course I love my faith and God but come on man.”

Also, this:

“He’s telling everybody what they want to hear,” Finley said. “You see him and he’s patting everybody on the back saying, ‘You’re going to make this catch. I promise because God said,’ And he makes it happen. Stuff like that. It confuses people. People that don’t know the game outside of the fans, of course they’re going to hype it up. But guys that see a good player and a good quarterback, they know what kind of guy he’ll be down the road when he gets exposed. Everybody who knows the game knows what kind of player Tebow is going to be.”

That could be, and like Finley implies, Rodgers is light years ahead of Tebow (and probably light years of where Tebow ever hopes to be) when it comes to playing quarterback. But let’s face it: the Packers have gotten plenty of coverage this year, and you can’t turn on a football game without seeing that Discount Double Check commercial starring Rodgers as a dancer and a robot.

Finley, though, isn’t alone in his critique of the media coverage surrounding Tebow. Like CBSSports.com’s Ryan Wilson told you the other day, Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is offended by all the Tebow love as well.

"I like Tim, but you have a tendency to want to, I don’t want to see Tim do bad, but look what happens after he wins a football game," he said. "If you watched SportsCenter [Monday] it was Tim Tebow then something else, Tim Tebow then something else, and Tim Tebow then something else. When we beat the Steelers, were we on TV? No. I couldn’t even find a Baltimore Ravens highlight. I think that’s kinda the way it is around Baltimore. We don’t always get our respect but you gotta deal with it and go out there every week and just win football games.”

Funny thing about Tebow: he just wins games and he always doesn’t get the respect. So, when you think about it, Flacco and Tebow are kind of in the same situation. Except nobody knows what the hell Flacco-ing is.

The Bears' remaining schedule: Seattle, at Green Bay, at Minnesota. To have a shot at the postseason they'll need to win out, and clearly, Cutler, who was riding a five-game winning streak when he was injured, gives them the best chance to do that.

But to paraphrase Rick Pitino: Jay ain't walking through that door … at least not this week. Cutler appeared on “Waddle & Silvy” radio show Wednesday and said he might return for the Packers game in Week 16.

Cutler also said that last week in Denver he threw a football for the first time since having surgery on his thumb.

"It’s kind of like trying to relearn it," he said. "The ball was a little foreign in my hands. It’s a little bit stiff. And those pins in there, that adds a little bit of a shooting pain. In the next few weeks we have to figure out once all the swelling’s going whether I can manage with these pins or we’re going to have to pull them."

If Cutler doesn't play, then Hanie will be the starter. And while he's had a rough go of it in that role (the nadir, without a doubt: losing to Tyler Palko and the Chiefs in Week 13), Hanie showed improvement during the Bears' overtime loss to the Broncos last Sunday.

Offensive coordinator Mike Martz agrees.

"[Young quaterbacks] just get in there and there's a sense and they just go," he said of Hanie's overtime performance," he said according to Chamberlain. "When you mix (runs) in a little bit here and there for an inexperienced quarterback, it's harder on them until he gets a better feel for the game. And it's going to be that way until he plays more."

Here's a thought: maybe Martz' game plan should highlight Hanie's strengths -- not just in overtime but from the first series. Revolutionary stuff, we know.

Last week, we noted that there are significant differences between the NFL and NFLPA when it comes to HGH testing and that it's unlikely to be implemented any time soon, primarily because the union wants more transparency from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) when it comes to their testing procedures.

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was asked about the testing procedures on his weekly radio show and called the NFL's proposal "ludicrous."

"The HGH testing which was proposed by the NFL was absolutely ludicrous," Rodgers said on "Tuesdays with Aaron" with Jason Wilde on ESPN 540. "Our people went up to Canada and talked to the experts up there, and the testing they wanted to implement was highly unreliable. All the data that we were told, the results, no research behind it."

There's plenty of "research" behind the testing; otherwise the Olympics wouldn't utilize the WADA standard testing. But Rodgers is onto something when he points out how unreliable the test could be.

While WADA staunchly denied there are differences between the naturally-produced levels of HGH in American football players when asked by CBSSports.com last week, there's no guarantee that it's true.

And that's why the NFLPA and it's members are treading carefully when it comes to an HGH agreement -- once they go down that rabbit hole, there's no coming back.

File this under: living right. On Sunday, Packers wide receiver Greg Jenningssuffered a knee injury and there were concerns that it could be enough to end his season. During his Monday press conference, head coach Mike McCarthy said that Jennings suffered a sprained knee, is expected to miss a "couple of weeks' and that “he [should] be back for the playoffs.”

The Packers ran their record to 13-0 after whipping up on the Raiders in Week 14, and their remaining regular-season games (at Kansas City, Chicago, Detroit) point to the real possibility of 16-0. It would be the second time in four years a team has made it through the regular season undefeated (if you're just back from Mars, the Patriots did it in 2007).

And while the never-ending stories about the feat would quickly become tiresome, they'll we welcome next to the inevitable "Hey, we wonder what Mercury Morris thinks about this?" angles.

(For the sake of all mankind, here's to hoping the Packers lose before the playoffs. It would be the ultimate example of taking one for the team.)

With Jennings on the shelf until the playoffs, McCarthy will look to others to pick up the slack.

“We feel we have enough to move forward,” he said. “Greg will be missed, but with that, it’s more opportunities for the other perimeter players.”

While Jennings leads the teams in receptions (67), Jordy Nelson has more receiving yards (957 to 949) and tight end Jermichael Finley has a higher yards-per-catch average (14.3 to 14.2). Then there's veteran wideout Donald Driver and rookie Randall Cobb, who have combined for 50 receptions and five touchdowns this season. Oh, and Aaron Rodgers, 2011 NFL MVP, is still under center.

Thankfully, Jennings will be good to go in a few weeks. But even if he's not, the Packers -- with no shortage of big-play threats -- would still be a huge favorite to win it all.

Week 14's just about taken care of and several things are abundantly clear. Well, OK, not that much is clear, but we know that Tim Tebow is a winner.

On Monday's podcast, we break down Tebow's success against the Bears, who's to blame for the Cowboys latest fiasco, whether T.J. Yates can help the Texans win in the playoffs, if Greg Jennings injury is an indication that the Packers will sit or start their players the rest of the way, if Detroit's righted the ship with a narrow win against the Vikings, whether Raheem Morris is on the hot seat, plus much, much more.

Also, we preview the Seahawks-Rams Monday night scorcher of a matchup.

1. They're Not Saying 'Boooooo' ...

True story: Just over two years ago, T.J. Yates came on the jumbotron at the Dean Dome during a North Carolina game as the lead-in to a UNC football video, said "I'm T.J. Yates and I'm a Tar Heel," and Yates, who was in the crowd, was booed mercilessly by Tar Heel fans in attendance.

One surprisingly strong senior season and a slew of injuries to Houston quarterbacks later, Yates is the starting quarterback for the first Texans team to ever make the playoffs. He's no figurehead, either, as his play in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 20-19 victory in Cincinnati showed.

We think that logic and common football sense says a rookie quarterback can't take a team deep into the playoffs, but does it? This Texans team's success is predicated on running the ball and playing defense.

And that's not too far off what Mark Sanchez and Ben Roethlisberger leaned on as rookies. Both those guys went to the AFC Championship Game, as a rookie quarterback mind you.

Yates is different than those Sanchez or Roethlisberger because he's matured under tough circumstances, his expectations are lower, he didn't leave school early so he's more experienced and he's got good mentors surrounding him on the roster.

If Houston gets into a shootout with an opponent or finds themselves with a huge halftime deficit, they're probably in trouble. But if that happens, it's not on Yates anyway -- the defense and rushing attack probably already let them down.

Just remember that when it comes time to debate the viability of the Texans in the postseason that the rookie quarterback under center is about as viable as the stereotype that the Texans can't stop anyone on defense.

Remember, McDaniels is the guy that drafted Tebow and blossoming receiver Demaryius Thomas. Both might have been reaches when they were taken (25th and 22nd overall, respectively) and both looked like absolutely horrid selections pretty recently. But McDaniels obviously knew something about these guys and his premonitions and talent evaluation is paying off for Denver now.

Look, there are guys that were taken after Tebow and Thomas that are better overall additions to a roster (Dez Bryant, Rob Gronkowski, Devin McCourty stand out), and the value McDaniels wasted at those spots is disappointing. Also, given the Rams struggles on offense this year, handing credit his way isn't exactly the chic thing to do.

But as we get further from his nightmare regime in Denver and more ensconced in Tebowmania, it at least warrants a tip of the cap to McD for his decision to select two guys who are starting to fulfill the expectations that come with their draft slot.

3. Cowboy Down

But since Rex Ryan egged on some defensive coverages, Tony Romo egged on a big third-down throw to Miles Austin and Jason Garrett egged on clock management, isn't it possible that it's a systematic issue across the team as a whole?

We assume that because there's a new coach running the show, with different coordinators in place and some new players, that things are different. But things just aren't.

Jerry Jones knows this -- with the Giants at the goal line and the clock ticking down, an NBC camera caught him screaming "Timeout, Jason!"

Give credit where credit is to due to Eli Manning and the Giants for clawing their way back into this game, because it was a pretty magnificent comeback, something Eli's becoming quite proficient at this season.

But these Cowboys just can't close. We've seen it over and over this season and at some point, the bossman's patience for a lack of execution is going to run out.

This begs the question: will McCarthy and Green Bay chase 16-0 with the same fervor as the Patriots?

Losing someone like Jennings is debilitating to their run at repeating as Super Bowl champions, but it's not a dealbreaker because of all the talent they have at the various skill positions. Losing Aaron Rodgers? That's a whole different story.

There's no right answer that doesn't involve "winning the title" so it's unfair to judge whatever McCarthy and Ted Thompson decide to do. We don't know how things would play out in an alternate universe. But Jennings injury might be a bad sign for the chances at Green Bay running the table.\

5. Familiar Feeling

New England is streaking towards a likely No. 1 seed right now. And they have a kerfluffle on the sidelines between Tom Brady and his offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien that everyone can talk about. And there's the whole "Can I draft Rob Gronkowski in the second round of my fantasy league next year?" debate that might be worth discussing when going over interesting things about this team.

Again: the Redskins did this. Back in 2009, New England got throttled by the Ravens in Foxborough, because Baltimore had a stout defense and Ray Rice went HAM on a Pats defense that couldn't shut him down.

This year? The Patriots defense, a season-long problem for the team, reminds a lot of that squad, in that they can't stop anyone who's physical and can play ball control. Or, really, they can't stop anyone -- only four teams have scored less than 20 points against the Pats, and one of those was quarterbacked by Tyler Palko.

There are a lot of good defensive teams headed to the playoffs in the AFC, with a lot of good running backs, and some pretty talented quarterbacks.

Brady and Belichick are great about covering up flaws on a roster, but when they run into a physical team in the playoffs, we might see a similar result from years past.

6. So You're Telling Me There's a Chance?

The 2011 NFL season wouldn't feel right if we didn't get a Lloyd Christmas-inspired false-hope run from the Eagles and Chargers, would it?

San Diego's path to the postseason should have been a little bit easier, because the Raiders lost and the Broncos were supposed to lose (see: Tim Tebow doing what Tim Tebow does). Now things are much murkier, as San Diego needs either the Jets -- a team they should have beaten -- to go 1-2 down the stretch, or the Broncos -- another team they should have beaten -- to lose. And the Bolts have to win

8-8 and 9-7, respectively, are doable based for the two teams, based on their schedules. But even that kind of effort might not be enough to save the jobs of certain people in certain positions for these teams.

7. Call It a Comeback, Kid

For the second time this season, four teams in a single week overcame 12-point (or more) deficits to win.

Why? Well, as it turns out, offensive points aren't the only exciting thing that's happened as a result of the offense-friendly rules the NFL installed over the past few years. Comebacks occur more frequently too.

And big comebacks as well -- Atlanta, Jacksonville, Houston and Arizona were all down by 12-plus points and mounted a comeback in Week 14 -- in Week 2, another four teams did it as well.

Limitations on members of the secondary, limitations on defensive players hitting quarterbacks and the middle of the field opening up because of defenseless receiver rules mean teams are able to sling the ball around more frequently.

Defenses simply can't clamp down on teams when they have a lead and if someone takes their foot off the gas (see: the Panthers vs. the Falcons on Sunday), a comeback is absolutely in the cards.

8. Taking Flight

Note to anyone who ends up in a December-only fantasy league: draft Shonn Greene. Dude gets unholy hot when the weather gets cold and he's doing it again this year, with four touchdowns and well over 200 yards the last two weeks, including a career-high 129 rushing yards in a blowout win against Kansas City Sunday.

Not coincidentally, it might be smart to not write off the Jets ever again. Somehow, someway, they manage to win enough games to sneak into the playoffs.

Rex Ryan's crew is doing it again, and even though this rendition of the Jets is clearly inferior to the previous two seasons, it's hard to count them out.

Twice in his two years as head coach, Ryan's used a formula to get to the AFC Championship Game despite fighting uphill to even get into the playoffs. And now he's doing it again.

The Jets last three opponents -- Buffalo, Washington and Kansas City -- are about as cream-puffy as it comes, but you only have to play the people on your schedule. So I'm really not sure why this wasn't as obvious an outcome as Greene being largely irrelevant for fantasy teams until now.

9. Get Your Mojo Running

Lost in some of the fantastic Week 14 action was the fact that the incredibly underrated Maurice Jones-Drew, the only elite skill-position player that the Jaguars have, set the franchise record for career touchdowns, surpassing the also incredibly underrated Fred Taylor.

"Mojo" did it on a day in which he went absolutely b-a-n-a-n-a-s, rushing for 85 yards and two touchdowns, and catching six passes for 51 receiving yards and a pair of scores through the air as well.

“Words can’t really explain how excited I am,” Jones-Drew said.

Jones-Drew's one of the prototypes for the modern NFL back -- small but powerful, quick, great hands and a secret workhorse. (Not to mention he's a stalwart in the community, and a good guy to boot.) Amid an often ugly offensive performance by Jacksonville on a weekly basis, MJD's been insanely consistent in 2011.

Dude deserves some love.

10. Great Expectations

It's fascinating to see that Raheem Morris and Steve Spagnuolo are two guys everyone agrees find themselves firmly on the hot seat. That's because last year, Morris and Spags were a combined one game away from both being in the playoffs last year.

Morris won 10 games with the surprising Buccaneers and even though Spagnuolo went 7-9, he had a shot at winning the putrid NFC West in the final week of the season.

The 17 total wins for the two teams has created a pretty terrible predicament for the coaches who nearly got them to the postseason though: both guys are looking like strong candidates to be fired after the 2011 season.

The point of all this is that the NFL is a what-have-you-done-for-me lately business and Spags and Morris have lost lately. A lot.

Muffed Punts

Leftovers from Sunday's Action ...... Packers have now scored 466 points on the season, the second-highest total in NFL history through 13 weeks, behind only the Pats 503 in 2007.... Drew Brees and Johnny Unitas are the only two quarterbacks in NFL history with 40-straight games with passing touchdowns.... Rob Gronkowski has the all-time record for touchdown receptions in a single season by a tight end with 15.... Eli Manning's 400-yard passing performance was the 14th over the season, an NFL record.

Norv Turner -- Norv's fanning the hell out of his seat, but the Chargers might not have enough games left to make up for the bad start.

Award Worth Discussing of the Week

Aaron Rodgers has retired the MVP watch and the Colts are locked into Andrew Luck so I'm adjusting on the fly. Today's award worth discussing: Coach of the Year.

I find this race fascinating because you have four primary contenders, all with totally different situations.

There's Mike McCarthy of the Packers, who's threatening to run the table with a defending Super Bowl champ. Then there's Jim Harbaugh, who's made the a talented, underachieving 49ers team relevant again and quickly. They're the two favorites.

Then there's the underdogs: John Fox, who continues to win despite Tim Tebow flying under the radar in terms of media attention, and Gary Kubiak, who will not let a quarterback injury kill his season.

If McCarthy goes undefeated it's impossible not to give him the nod because, well, they didn't lose. But if the Packers falter at all, Harbaugh's sheen could fade enough down the stretch (a loss to Pittsburgh and struggles against Seattle and St. Louis maybe?) to let Fox and Kubes make a play for the award.

My vote, provided things play out the way they have so far, is for Fox, since he's winning with less in a way no one ever saw coming, well ahead of when people believed he'd win.